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I found these two species growing side-by-side on a lawn this morning, after an all-night light rain.

Species #1:

Habitat: freshly cut lawn, growing together in bunchesGills: black with VERY close spacing, NOT attached to stemStem: about 4" long, 1/4" diameter and VERY delicate, also hollowCap: convex cone, silk-like to the touch. dark-brown, turning black with age. edges are ragged, some caps had splits running from edge to centerSpore print: (will post pics when I have them - but I'm quite certain the spores are jet-black on these ones, see pic below)Scent: vaguely like regular table mushroms (A. bisporus)

Some kind of Coprinus, perhaps? As you can see here, the spores wipe off of the older caps with an ink-like appearance:

Species #2:

Habitat: freshly cut lawn, growing individuallyGills: pink-brown, fair amount of space in between and not attached to stemStem: about 1/2" diameter and 1-2" long, they are solid all the way through and are quite firm (though not fibrous)Cap: convex but nearly flat, white, generally round but there were some irregularly shaped ones (one was 4" long by only 1" wide)Spore print: (to be posted later...)Scent: VERY closely (as in EXACTLY) smells like the common table mushroom

And I have no idea about these ones...some kind of Agaricus? I'll have to wait for the spore print.

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Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free.
But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.

Species #2 is some sort of an Agaricus and is probably edible if it smells pleasant (that doesn't mean eat it). It is related to the common store mushroom which are Agaricus bisporus. In general, poisonous Agaricus smell and taste bad and none of them are deadly. It might be worth researching further if they are abundant and you like to eat mushrooms for food.

--------------------Research funded by the patrons of
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Reinvesting 25% of Sales Towards Basic Research and Species Identification

One of the most fascinating characteristics of Basidiomycota is the production of forcibly discharged ballistospores (Fig. 2), which are propelled into the air from the sterigma. Ballistospores may be sexual or asexual, and may be produced by basidia, hyphae, yeast cells, or even other ballistospores. This type of spore discharge must have evolved very early in the evolutionary history of the Basidiomycota as it is found in members of the earliest diverging lineages within the group. Ballistospory is associated with forms that disperse their spores directly into the air. Most aquatic Basidiomycota and forms that produce spores inside the fruiting body, such as puffballs, have lost ballistospory.

Ballistospory is associated with the production of a liquid filled "hilar droplet" that forms at the base of the spore, just above its attachment to the sterigma (Fig. 2). Resolving the mechanism of ballistospory has been a longstanding problem in mycology (Buller 1909, 1922; Ingold 1939; McLaughlin et al. 1985; Webster et al. 1984a, b; Yoon and McLaughlin 1986). In a series of studies, reviewed by Money (1998), it has been shown that spore discharge occurs when the hilar droplet fuses with a film of liquid on the surface of the spore. The rapid coalescence of the liquids causes a sudden shift in the center of mass of the spore and contributes to its release from the sterigma. This mechanism has been termed a "surface tension catapult" and it results in spores being discharged with a force of about 25,000 g (Money 1998).

Coprinus species gills are so tightly packed that if the gills remained intactthe spores would stick to the gills facing the ones the spores came from when they are ejected. As the gills deliquesse it exposes the ripening spores to the air rather than just being stuck to another gill.

Quote:Coprinus species gills are so tightly packed that if the gills remained intactthe spores would stick to the gills facing the ones the spores came from when they are ejected. As the gills deliquesse it exposes the ripening spores to the air rather than just being stuck to another gill.

Very true. In fact, Coprinus species have cystidia on the gill faces to keep the gills apart enough so the spores can develop (learned that from Orson Miller). Now *that's* crowded gills.